Home
by frizzles
Summary: She could feel the air tighten around her, the water not relieving her parched throat, her feelings slowly smothering her until the thin string keeping her from breaking entirely was as fagile as a glass bowl in the middle of a highway. Au Zutara
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender or any other book or movie references used in this chapter.

**Notes: **I heard that being miserable was one of the most creative stages you can be in. I hope it's true or else being miserable has come to nothing. Enjoy the story!! Also Grandmother Kanna Gran-Gran.

**Ch.1 **

Katara tried to breath, but the air gave no relief to her aching lungs. The space started pressing in, suffocating, hurting her already suppressed throat, adding weight to her unstable feelings until she felt as fragile as a glass bowl in the middle of a highway. How could this have happened? Her mother, never to replaced now gone, her father missing in Iraq; A new life, a new school, all lying straight in front of her. Three weeks. In three weeks a whole new home.

* * *

Katara peered out the back window of the taxi, the car bouncing rhythmatically on the cracked pavement. Sokka sat besides her, his hands neatly folded in his lap. The sky was a piercing blue, and the smell of water hung in the air. The lake, katara thought; the only thing that seemed a bright prospect. Water, an element she could relate too.

The buildings of Chicago seemed to rise impossibly high in the sky, nothing like the two story buildings of their small confined town. The town Katara loved; her home, nothing like this new and alien place. All the houses looked to be on top of each other, none having a definite yard or row of grass. The neighborhoods could not be distinguished from the shopping plazas, all seeming to blend into each other.

"I hope were not living in any of those dumps," Sokka said pointing at a group of houses sandwiched between _Larry's laundry_ and _Fine_ _Tibetan takeout. _

"No, Grandma said she lives in an apartment on a _nice _street," Katara said drumming her fingers on the streaked window, "Even with flowers." Katara inhaled sharply as the Sear's Tower came into view. The sheer magnitude of it was overwhelming. That's what Chicago was; an overwhelming enormity different from anything Katara had ever seen.

"Holy firecrackers," Sokka muttered, "I bet it would take me all day to climb to the top of that monster." Despite her dreary mood, Katara chuckled, enjoying the sound that had not echoed from her lips in weeks.

They drove on through the maze of buildings and shops, bringing wild gestures and exclamations from Sokka. Every time some kind of weird structure came into view, which was quite often, Sokka shot up from his seat saying he'd never seen anything like it.

After what felt like hours of being stuck in traffic jams and passing through streets filled with houses, stores, store-houses, they finally made it to their grandma's neighborhood. Apartments lined the street, each about two inches from the next. Some of the lawns even had cute little white-picket fences, and flowerbeds in the windows. The trees that boarded the street reached high into the sky, their leaves in full bloom. _It was_ _beautiful;_ a Thomas Kinkade painting just waiting to happen.

The taxi pulled up to an apartment with three stories. The house was a dark cherry brick, with rows of deep green ivy starting at the bottom and growing up to the very top. The middle floor contained a balcony with a few sleek black chairs and large potted plants, including geraniums. The windows on that level were decorated with boxes of bright yellow, red, and magenta petunias, inspiring the impression of a Swedish windmill.

"Which one do you think is Grandma's?" Katara asked praying it was the warmly decorated dwelling. Before Sokka could answer, an elderly woman in a bright pink sweater burst through the front door. Her gray hair cropped in short wisps bounced up and down like a trampoline.

"Oh my children," she practically screamed, "I was worried sick! You are thirty minutes late!!" She limped down the front steps, and ran awkwardly to Sokka, her short body barely coming up to his chest.

"Cheese and potatoes," Sokka said arching his eyebrows, "It's not like we were two hours late."

"Do you know what could happen in a thirty minute time span here in Chicago? A lot! My best friend Ruth had her purse stolen and her car egged all in thirty minutes. It's your first day here and I already think you won't be able to take care of yourself properly in this city. You have to be careful!!," Kanna (Grandma) screeched eyeing Sokka's stained shirt and ripped jeans, looking as if on the verge to scold more.

Katara silenced Kanna by giving her a hug and an affectionate kiss on the cheek.

"I've missed you too honey," Kanna said returning the embrace. "And you also," She added pulling Sokka into the hug.

Sokka extracted a few bills from his wallet to pay the taxi driver, but Kanna stopped him insisting on taking care of the amount due herself. After a short argument they ended up on the stairs walking, to Katara's delight, the middle apartment. The inside was just as pretty as the outside. Vivid carpets contrasting with the polished wood floor decorated the ground. Red velvet curtains with Chinese calligraphy hung on the walls. The kitchen was spacious with numerous counters. There was a large granite bar in the center, which strangely, accented the brown wall.

"I know it's not much, but its home," Kanna said throwing her keys in a bowl by the door. She hobbled over to Katara and Sokka pointing out their rooms. "I'll let you get settled. Dinner will be in about twenty minutes."

Katara nodded mutely, passing through the black frame leading into a sea foam colored room. Her blue polka dotted bedspread already lay on the bed. Her violin leaned on the wall in the back corner, its bow propped neatly beside it. Katara yearned to feel the soft polished wood in her hands, the string plucking almost tangible notes into the air. The notes felt touchable to her, but then again everyone at her old school thought she was weird. The sounds were weighted with so much emotion, so how could they not feel physical.

On the wall near Katara's bed stood a polished mahogany bookshelf. The different rungs were laden with all sorts of novels, including all six of Jane Austen's masterpieces. And there was of course all seven Harry Potter novels, but the book that was the most rugged, the most read was _Ashes in the Wind_. Sokka made fun of her all the time, but she loved the pure romance the book beheld. Kathleen Woodiwiss was her favorite authors. The complicated love stories made her feel as if there was someone waiting for her, but when she put down the book that wonderful feeling went away.

There was a comfortable chair in the back of the room and a small cabinet placed in front of it with a TV located on top. Katara smiled. Her Grandmother did not have to give her such a nice gift. Inside the cabinet was an array of movies, including many Jane Austen. The movies that surprised her most were the complete box set of all four _Die Hards_.

Exhausted, Katara warily sank into the chair. It was soft, with little bits of fur. The comfortness surrounded her relieving the pain in her fatigued body, most of it emotional. A remote lay in the chair, and she switched the TV on. Most of the TV shows on were either reality shows or about celebrity drama, none of which interested Katara. For a second she felt at home, but then it went away after she realized her grandmother was calling her for dinner and not her mother.

"Come on sweetie. I just finished mixing the noodles," Gran-Gran called from the kitchen. Katara wasn't really hungry, but what ever Kanna was making smelled delicious and sounded interesting too. Sokka was sitting at the table staring hungrily at a huge bowl of Thai shrimp stir-fry on the table, which he probably would eat half of. His mouth was close to salivating when Kanna put a fresh loaf of hot bread on the table. He didn't even wait for everyone to seat themselves at the table before he started eating like a ravished man who had been stuck on an island for weeks without food.

"Wait!! You forgot to pray," Katara said hurriedly. Sokka put down his fork but stared at it longingly. She grabbed Sokka's hand on the left and Kanna's on the right. "Thank you Lord for this meal. Thank you for letting us be here together. Please don't let us or others forget about the less fortunate. Amen." _Amen _echoed Kanna and Sokka, each piling their plates. The food was good, but Katara's appetite still had not come back yet. She wanted to eat, she really did, but her stomach felt weak.

"You have not touched your food," Kanna

"I know," Katara sighed, "I guess I'm just not hungry." Deliberately she stood up from her chair, trying to show a face of mollification, "My stomach is just a little queasy…I think a walk might help."

"Don't wander off. It's getting late and Chicago isn't very safe after dark."

Katara nodded, her face a show of blank emotion, but the starkness in her chest felt overwhelming. The clock showed the time of 7:00 in the evening. A gust of cooling air greeted her flushed face as she stepped into the universe outside. The sidewalk in front of the house was cobblestone, presenting the sensation of walking down a street in Victorian England next to finely dressed ladies with petticoats and parasols. The sky was still a vivid cheerful blue, continuing the fact that the world was happy and she was not.

The avenue containing Gran-Gran's apartment was not long, and the street opening out of it was lined with rows of shops. A _Food Plus_ snuggled happily on the corner caught Katara's eye. A cool iced tea sounded like something she could keep in her stomach.

The store was not the nicest thing she'd ever seen, but she could make do with what was there. The ceiling top had missing tiles, some of which leisurely dropping to the floor below. The ground was an ugly acrylic orange, contrasting horribly with the flamboyant blue walls. Rows of shelves holding chips, canned goods, snacks, and candy bars filled the store, relating the suggestion of a mini-grocery shopping place.

Quickly, she located the refrigerators and grabbed the caffeinated drink, not even looking to see which flavor was enclosed in the jar. At the counter Katara paid with quarters, which wasn't the brightest idea considering the cashier was very slow with change, and the smell of smoke was suffocating.

Hurriedly, she stepped into the almost smoke-free oxygen filled easily breathable air.

_BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. "_What the hell are you doing," an angry black haired copper eyed boy screamed from his rolled down window. Katara hastily stepped back from the curb, embarrassed that she forgot to look before crossing. The teenager flashed her a last angry glare before speeding down the street, the gas from his beat up Chevy adding more pollution to the air.

Shakily, she headed home, her can of tea forgotten from the place she dropped it on the sidewalk. She recalled the situation with a feeling of stupidity. The last time she almost got hit by a car was when she wandered afar her mother in a Meijer's parking lot. She was eventually found sobbing in a handicapped spot by Sokka, who surprisingly had eyes brimming with tears, which were forgotten when he gave her the scolding of a lifetime.

With a growling stomach, Katara entered the abode. She felt out of place in the apartment, but she could not deny the welcoming homey feeling Kanna added to the place; bright flowers, oriental carpets, sleek marble counters, vibrant walls, and modern, but Victorian pictures. Sokka was poking at a pile of coals in the fireplace. The clock on the mantelpiece showed the time to be 7:30 in the evening. Katara could not help but smile remembering winter memories of hot chocolate, toasted marshmallows, and Holiday gatherings. Katara did feel sentimental, and what else was there to dwell on except childhood memories of people now lost to you forever. A sad shaky feeling shuddered through her, bringing the overpowering desire for the comforts and innocence of dreams and sleep.

**End of Chapter one!!**

**Hope to hear your thoughts on this newly started Zutara.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Katara stop fidgeting and just get in the car," Sokka commanded smoothing his hair in the rearview mirror, "It's not like anyone's going to notice us, the school has five thousand kids

**Disclaimer: Avatar the last Airbender is not mine.**

**Notes: Could anyone tell me how to add chapter names and new themes? I'm at a lost for how to do them, and I'm interested in knowing.**

**Ch.2**

"Katara stop fidgeting and just get in the car," Sokka commanded smoothing his hair in the rearview mirror, "It's not like anyone's going to notice us, the school has five thousand kids."

Katara sighed and climbed into her grandma's spotless Toyota. Katara swallowed the lump in her throat, and drummed her fingers on the taut light blue jeans strangling her legs. The tight red shirt incasing her upper body contained the words _New York Jazz_ in sparkling black letters, matching nicely with the dark makeup etched around her eyes. Her shoes, pink and black stripped, were a knock-off brand of rocket dogs. Her last accessory never now apart from her neck, was her mother's mossy blue necklace.

The day was hot, and beads of sweat dripped lightly on her neck. The thought of a school over four hundred percent bigger than her last filled her with a foreboding feeling of further pain, but as Sokka said, maybe no one would notice her. After all, she dressed in normal clothes, wasn't too spectacular in math, and did not throw herself at the boys, granting her the unwanted attention of girls calling her a slut.

She glanced over at Sokka who seemed perfectly at ease. His blue T-shirt bearing the stupid slogan _it's all fun and games until someone loses a wiener_, showed the picture of two boys around a campfire cooking hotdogs. He wore cargo shorts, not to big, but large enough for a belt to be wrapped around his thin waist. His bright green and black skater shoes appeared too fat for his feet, and how he maneuvered in them on a skateboard, she did not know.

"Are you excited dear," Kanna said from the driver's seat. She insisted on accompanying them on their first day of school, Katara's sophomore and Sokka's junior year, even though the bus stop was only a block away.

"Do you want a truthful answer," Katara sighed, her anxiety slowly transforming into weariness.

"Oh honey, I think you should be. New places are always exciting, and plus you get to try out for the school's symphony or wind assemble or any band you want, considering there is so many of them," Kanna exclaimed jollily, the enthusiasm in her voice calming Katara.

"But what if I don't make one of the bands? There are so many students, and a lot of them are bound to be skilled players. What if I'm not good enough?"

"Oh! You artsy people are all the same, no confidence in yourself. If you don't make the best band then don't worry about it, do you really think anyone is going to be disappointed in you? But you're so good I don't see how you won't."

Katara just grumbled in response, her stomach mimicking her from the lack of breakfast that morning. Since her belly was so aflutter, she didn't know how she could have kept anything down. But from all the cranberry juice she drank, her bladder felt on the brink of explosion from how much pee filled it. The nervousness did not help either.

Katara's violin sat on her lap, too nervous to situate the instrument in the trunk where its safety was not guaranteed. Her backpack bursting with new binders, pencils, paper, and other school supplies was stuffed carelessly in the trunk.

In her hands she held hopefully her class schedule, received a few days after arriving in Chicago. First period: Algebra 2, at least she would get the worst class out of the way as soon as possible. Second period: Short stories/compositions. Third period: Biology. Fourth period: Whatever band class she was accepted in. Fifth period: lunch. Sixth period: French three, having taken her first year in eighth grade. Seventh period: speech. Eighth period: World History.

To Katara's happiness, and Sokka's dismay, they were in two classes together; lunch and speech. Sokka was not necessary displeased that his little sister was in his speech class, but since in his words his cool factor was far above hers, she might cramp his so-called style.

Sokka's style usually consisted of over-large shoes, stupid potty shirts, gelled hair, and a skateboard. Katara had no idea why, but the ladies normally found themselves attracted to him. Katara was what her mom called a late bloomer. That summer she actually gained a B cup and her butt rounded from totally flat to half-moon.

Her first and only boyfriend happened upon her in seventh grade for an interlude of three weeks. His name was Jacob, and he lived in the house behind her. Jacob made his affection known by having a note passed to her through a friend. Needless to say, the relationship did not gain much ground. Sokka on the other hand retained the fact that he had five girlfriends in seventh grade, four in eighth, and two in ninth, and two "serious ones" as a sophomore.

After fifteen painful minutes, the car arrived at a massive school, at least five times bigger than Katara and Sokka's last. It looked to be three stories high, and from Katara's view, she could not distinguish where its length ended. The walls were concrete, but at every few meters or so there was a banner containing the school's colors; black and bright green.

"It looks like a museum," Katara breathed, her nose pressed tight against the window, her stomach squirming at the pure colossal level of it.

Sokka just shrugged. "Won't be boring here," he muttered, "Won't see the same kids every day since kindergarten."

Katara did not reply. She liked the safe feeling of knowing what was going to happen and who you were going to see that day at school. She liked the bubble she used to live in, the protection. The small town where her old house lay, where she grew up, might have been boring at times, but it was kind and it was her home.

"Look!" Sokka exclaimed tipping his head at a gang in the parking lot, "They're gonna be my homies. I'll be rollin with my own type of crew." If there was one thing that peeved Katara, it was when Sokka spoke as if he was a gangster.

Katara lazily rolled her head in the direction Sokka found so interesting. But what she saw made her press her nose so hard against the window it turned the shade of a ripe tomato. A boy the color of creamy mocha traveled smoothly down a stair rail. The sun glinted off his rich skin, his face exquisite in the early sun. The other boys cheered as he dropped casually from the railing. The handsome teenager flipped the board and caught it as easily as walking up the steps he just glided down. Katara sighed; maybe this school would not be so bad.

Kanna chuckled obviously amused, causing Katara to blush, which made the redness spread from her nose onto her whole face. Sokka had no idea what was going on; typical boy behavior. Being the egotistical male he could be sometimes, he smiled smugly thinking the transaction between grandmother and granddaughter had something to do with him.

Kanna smoothly maneuvered through the rows of cars waiting for a parking spot, and drove to the front entrance.

"Have a good day Sweetie," Kanna said sending Katara a tender look, "Try to be happy okay. Meet some new friends and smile and laugh. You'll be less depressed that way, trust me."

"Okay," Katara mumbled, no meaning behind her single word.

Once Kanna's car disappeared down the street, Sokka drew his earrings from his pocket, and placed the diamond studs in his ears.

"You look like a flamer," Katara chuckled as they walked towards the school's office, "I still can't believe you got those."

"For the Last time, I don't feel like having this conversation with you," Sokka said annoyed.

"I was just saying," Katara laughed, "You don't have to listen to my opinion."

"Sis, do you want to hear the theory I have developed from this situation…I think your jealous that I have my ears pierced and you don't."

"I'm a girl if you have not noticed, and if I wanted to get holes poked through my ears I could easily get it done."

Before Sokka had time to respond, they walked into the front office and a large cheery woman wearing way too much pink lipstick exclaimed jollily, "You must be the new students. I've asked a young lady in the tenth grade to show you to your lockers and classrooms. She should be here any minute. Go ahead and sit down on those chairs while you wait."

On the woman's shirt was a nametag decorated in pink hearts reading the name _Mrs. Eunice Westfield._ Not only was she wearing a pink blouse but an even brighter pink sweater which hurt the eyes when you looked directly at it.

"How many times do I have to give you a detention before you understand," An angry man was saying as he pulled a student into the office, "The hallway, or anyway inside the school is not permitted for you to ride your skateboard all over. We had this problem last year and on the first day of school you're already breaking the rules."

The boy didn't say anything in response; he just walked over to a chair in the corner and sat down. Katara quickly drew in a breath. It was the same boy whose car she walked in front of. Peering over at him, she could tell he was amused. A small smirk played on his face, enhancing the gold tone of his eyes. A hood was pulled up over his hair, throwing a shadow on the side of his face with the scar. He glanced at Katara, a scowl coming onto his face, but the light still in his eyes.

"You skateboard," Sokka said, his eyes widening.

The boy grunted in response, the scowl still placed on his features.

"Are you from that gang outside the school?"

"No." The boy said icily, "And never will be."

Katara elbowed Sokka in the ribs, trying to get him to shut up. She could tell the boy did not want to talk, and his cold tone was further cementing that feeling.

"Oh Ty Lee," The frilly secretary exclaimed, "These are the two dashing young students I want you to mentor. The girl is your age, her name's Katara. This is her older brother Sokka."

"Hi!" Sokka beamed staring not so stealthy at the girl, and Katara could understand why. She was not very tall, but the pettiness of her frame added to the cute little high school girl look she implied. Her brown hair was in two braided pigtails, accented nicely at the tips with purple ribbons, which matched the cute violet shirt she was wearing. Katara could acutely imagine her being portrayed as the innocent-looking but naughty teenager in a movie or show.

"Hey! So you're the new boy," Ty Lee replied sweetly, "Any new face is welcome with me, especially one as cute as you.

Sokka opened his mouth but abruptly closed it, obviously not finding an adequate response to such a compliment. Katara stifled a giggle, burying her head into her shoulder, but Sokka caught it anyway and threw her a two second glare.

"Well, follow me," Ty Lee bubbled, "The bell rings in fifteen minutes."

She led them through a maze of hallways, classrooms, and bathrooms that were such an intricate weave of rooms that Katara had no idea how she could remember it all without a map.

During the journey Katara did not say much, not that Ty Lee did not talk enough for the two of them, but she became sharply aware of the vast environment she was in, and once again the feeling was not too pleasant.

The bell rang soon enough, and she grabbed her algebra books from her locker, which was sandwiched between the lockers of a friendly boy named Aang and a boisterous girl named Toph. They did not have time to say much but smiled cheerily and waved. Katara walked in the opposite direction from them, zigzagging between the mass of students. When she entered her first period class she instantly saw the boy with the golden eyes sitting in the corner.

"Good morning class," a little man in large square glasses announced from the front of the room, "As most of you know I am Mr. Piptullkun." He turned to the chalkboard and spelled it out. The hand writing was neat and square, too symmetrical in Katara's eyes. "Due to the students' behavior last year when I allowed them to choose their own seats, I've decided to do away with that and assign you your own."

Pushing his glasses from the tip of his nose, he pulled a piece of paper from his brown peeling briefcase and read, "Back row – Amelia, Jem, Zuko, Katara…" After he announced the last two names, Katara immediately stopped listening. The boy with the golden eyes, jet black hair, and pink scar sat in the seat next to hers.

"Hi," Katara stuttered, the words softer then she intended.

Zuko groaned and glanced over at Katara's tense face. He did not say anything, but looked intensely into her eyes. She glanced away quickly, a blush spreading on her cheeks. In all truth he did not know what to say. He was not a people person. He did not know how to start a conversation without sounding awkward.

Zuko did not make eye contact again with Katara that period, and she did not feel the need to spark up a conversation between them. He was clearing a taciturn young man, with very nice features, but that was besides the point.

It was definitely going to be an interesting year.

**End of Ch. 2**

**Please Review, it makes me want to write more when you do.**

**TODAY WAS THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL**


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